Formerly a one-way street, the street has been converted to a two-way street and the northern end of the street has been converted into a pedestrian mall to ease the problem of traffic jams, as well as the crowd at Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, which was most packed during the weekends and public holidays. The street, which previously extended to Stamford Road, has been shortened after the construction of the Singapore Management University's city campus and the MRT station.
Chinese New Year festive market at Waterloo Street in February 2024.
Waterloo Street is parallel to North Bridge Road, Victoria Street, and Queen Street (in sequence); these were previously the major roads to the city. As the road names were too difficult to pronounce for the locals, they simply called them Toa Beh Lo, Tzee Beh Lo, and Sa Beh Lo which means "the big (first) road", "the second road", "the third road". The Hokkiens and Teochews call Waterloo Street si beh lo which simply means "the fourth road".
A mini Chinese New Year bazaar is usually hosted at the upper stretch of Waterloo Street in the weeks leading up to the festival.
